Scheffler pulls the trigger to gun down TCU

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“It was the lack of confidence in the first half. At halftime, Coach just said that when I’m open, I have to shoot, even if it is off. There’s still a chance for the rebound. In the second half, I knew that when I got my chance (to be in the game), I would shoot when I was open.” -- Wyoming sophomore Kristen Scheffler
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By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wait for it … wait for it.

For streaky outside shooters, that might be what goes through their head. That might have been the case for the Wyoming Cowgirls and Kristen Scheffler Wednesday night in the 73-67 upset of No. 22 TCU.

That, and a little confidence.

Scheffler, a sophomore from Lovell, is easily the best outside shooter for the Cowgirls, especially when she believes in herself.

On Wednesday, the confidence was a bit lagging in the first half; five minutes of court play, no points on 0 for 1 shooting.

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In fact, it wasn’t until late in the game -- when the Cowgirls needed her most -- that Scheffler felt good enough to let it fly.

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With the game tied at 51-each with 4:29 to play, Scheffler hit the first of three straight 3-pointers that ultimately made the difference in the game. Her second 3-pointer put Wyoming up by six with 3:521 left, and after a basket by teammate Aubrey Vandiver, her third 3-pointer capped an 11-0 run.

The Cowgirls then went to the free-throw line and never looked back.

“There were so many plays that were big plays in this basketball game,” Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. “Whether you look at Hillary (Carlson) getting a career high in scoring with 29 points and 11 rebounds; Aubrey, 18 points, eight rebounds; Emma (Langford), 13 points, seven rebounds, seven assists.

“What I told the team at halftime was that was as well as we could have played in the first 20 minutes. But we need somebody else to step up and we cannot just rely on the three – Emma, Aubrey and Hillary. Kristen Scheffler answered the call. Her three threes when the score was tied at 51, that is the difference in the basketball game.”

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This, from a player who probably doesn’t shoot enough.

“What Kristen did in that two-minute span was an unbelievable performance,“ Legerski added. “I’m always telling her how much I believe in her. If she just believes half as much as I do in her, she is going to be a tremendous basketball player.”

Scheffler, who has now hit 31 of 72 3-pointers this season (.435) and has 73 3-pointers in her brief Cowgirl career, hasn’t quite bought into the gunslinger, shoot anywhere on the court philosophy that most 3-point shooters possess.

“It was the lack of confidence in the first half,“ Scheffler said. “At halftime, Coach just said that when I’m open, I have to shoot, even if it is off. There’s still a chance for the rebound. In the second half, I knew that when I got my chance (to be in the game), I would shoot when I was open.”

She got her chance in the final minutes.

“I just shot when I was open and luckily they went in,” Scheffler said. “It is a just a matter of confidence with me.”

None was bigger than her third 3-pointer, as she stepped back under heavy defense and nailed the shot with six seconds left on the shot clock.

TCU coach Jeff Mittie said Scheffler’s final 3-pointer might have broken the Lady Frogs’ back.

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“We gave up some shots late, particularly to Scheffler,” Mittie said. “She hit the shot I would call the play of the game, when she hit that tough 3-pointer at the end.”

Legerski said that shot was a “big-time play from a player who can make those types of plays.”

A starter for most of her freshman season,, Scheffler continues to excel her sophomore campaign, but this time as the “sixth-man” off of the bench.

You can say she is the team’s hired gun.

“Kristen is tremendous,” Legerski said. “If there is a player who has a green light, and I’ve told her before, go ahead and shoot it from 28 feet if you feel like it, because she is that talented and that good. When Kristen starts to believe in herself, that two-minute span is something she can do every night. She can do it for 25 or 30 minutes.”

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When Scheffler believes in herself and has the results that she had Wednesday night, her teammates respond as well.

“Her shots were really big shots. To get back up gives us a lot of confidence. From there, we were talking that we were going to win,” Vandiver said.